An issue that can often arise with systems that are performing distributed timing analyses is the handling of discrepancies between the local clocks within each unit on a system. There are numerous applications where clock correlation between distributed units is either required or provides a substantial increase in the accuracy of results.
One example application where clock correlation is important is in wireless locating systems. A wireless locating system often includes a number of receiver units distributed within a tracking area, where each receiver unit may have an independent local clock. The receiver units may be configured to receive a wireless signal from a tag at an unknown location within the tracking area. Based on the timing of when the receiver units receive the signal from the tag, a locating analysis can be performed to determine the location of the tag. Determining precisely when a signal is received at each receiver unit and relating those times to each other is a key operation that is performed by the locating system. As such, discrepancies in the clocks of the receiver units can negatively impact the accuracy of a location determination, if left uncorrected. As such, being able to account for the discrepancies in the clocks of the various receivers is an important feature of an accurate locating system.